Injuries, attrition, bad recruiting, bad luck, etc. you name it, everything that could possibly come to head in one season, has for Rich Rodriguez and the Arizona Football team. Perhaps the silver lining this year has been the strong recruiting for 2017, and the great, young men on the team currently.

One of those young men, is redshirt senior, Josh Kern. On Tuesday, the Associated Press released an article of their unsung heroes of the Pac-12. One of the players on their list, was Kern.

The senior out of Clark High School in San Antonio, TX, was originally recruited in 2011 by Mike Stoops as a quarterback. After a coaching change, a redshirt season, and a position change, Kern has been playing tight end under Rodriguez for the past few seasons.

He hasn’t had many opportunities in his career, totaling just 12 career catches, but his impact has been beyond just the football field. Kern has been the heart and soul of the Wildcats, giving the eulogy for senior offensive linemen Zach Hemmila, who past away in his sleep in August.

“He’s a leader in the community. He’s our top service guy. I don’t know if you can be a better role model for all of our players than Josh Kern.”

In addition to the involvement of Josh on his team, he’s had an active role in the community as well, speaking at the funeral of fan Andrew Valdez, a local teen who lost his battle with cystic fibrosis last year.

“I’ve never had to worry about him doing the right thing,” coach Rich Rodriguez said. “He’s a leader in the community. He’s our top service guy. I don’t know if you can be a better role model for all of our players than Josh Kern.”

Unfortunately, Kern won’t be able to play in a bowl game in his final season with the Wildcats, but he and Arizona at least have an opportunity to finish the year on a positive note, especially for the seniors. Beating the Beavers and Sun Devils would certainly be a great finish to a rough year.

At Zona Zealots, even though the season is quickly drawing to a close, we will miss the group of seniors on this team. We would like to congratulate Kern on this distinction, and wish him the best as he finishes his senior year. Bear Down, Josh!